What are these products?
Ben Holladay and Holladay Soft Red Wheat bourbons are distilled grain-to-glass at the Holladay Distillery in Weston, Missouri, the oldest distillery west of the Mississippi River. In 2015, the distillery underwent a $10 million renovation of the original stillhouse. It began distilling bourbon on-site for the first time in 30 years, resurrecting the Holladay Distillery name in honor of the founders.
How are they similar?
These two bourbons are more similar than different. They both use estate-sourced limestone-filtered spring water during production from a natural spring first charted by Lewis and Clark in 1804. They both have a barrel-entry proof of 118 (59 % ABV) and are aged on-site in new # 3 charred Missouri white oak barrels for a minimum of 6 years. They follow all the Bottled-in-Bond and Missouri bourbon laws and are non-chill filtered, bottled in small batches of 48-52 barrels at 100 proof (50 % ABV). The Ben Holladay Bourbon won a gold medal at the 2022 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and the Holladay Soft Red Wheat won a gold medal at the 2023 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
How are they different?
Based on historical records, Ben Holladay bourbon uses the original Missouri mash bill and recipe made by Benjamin Holladay in 1856. This expression has a mash bill of 73 % Missouri corn, 15 % rye, and 12 % barley. Holladay Soft Red Wheat has no historical significance to the distillery. The company's president enjoys wheated bourbon, so he asked the Master Distillery to produce one about a year after he started distilling the flagship Ben Holladay bourbon. This expression shares all the same production details as Ben Holladay, except for the mash bill, which uses wheat instead of rye. The mash bill is 73 % Missouri corn, 15 % wheat, and 12 % barley.
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